Novotel Mechelen Centrum

... UK!<br><br>Brussels airport is emptier than I have ever seen it in my life. There are no more than 10 flights for the rest of the day. Eric and I are alone in the airport lounge, save for a couple of elderly people and their miniature poodle, which is snacking on a croissant. <br><br>We are waiting for our flight - it is delayed by half an hour as I write this. That's just fine, in fact, it can be delayed until ...

... Aimee drooled over the Mon Chi Chi's bringing her back to her childhood. Three floors of toys is never a bad thing when you are traveling with children (and Bruce for that matter!). <br><br>Being in this part of Europe we were surrounded by history and took some time to appreciate the area in this respect. The Jewish Museum of Deportation and Resistance is located in Mechelen and was very powerful and ...

There is a museum that is in a cathedral in Mechelen that is hosting an exhibit of 14 Terra Cotta soldiers and various artifacts. We went up on the first Saturday that the exhibit was open to attempt to avoid the crowds. It was a great exhibit and had a lot of good information on the audio guide.

31st May - Amsterdam - Bike Tour We headed into town to the port to find our barge/boat for the start of our Hat Tour: Amsterdam to Brussels bike ride at 12:30. After unpacking we had lunch &amp; introductions, We then went on a 15km ride to North Amsterdam - we took our bikes on the ferry there, then a bridge back, we both did well on the ride. We had a lovely tea on the boat at 6:30, after that we went to a nearby library to use the internet. 1st June - Vianen - Bike ...

... have taken a taxi, we could not even have gotten back into the house. So this entry is for Linda. Thank you Linda and we owe you a fancy dinner. I know where already. Het is 5 wanneer ik uit bed kruip. Ik ween en ween voor Jr. Exact 6h, zijn wij klaar en exact 6h pikt Linda ons op. Hebt u vrienden, die u om 6h in de ochtend voeren? Wij wel! We nemen vanmorgen de trein van Mechelen aan Schiphol, waar wij een ...

... pleasant! Besides the organ of the cathedral that still echoes in my head, they had brought over a gospel group, and when they sang "Amazing Grace" I couldn't stop crying, cause it was the most beautiful thing I have ever heard, more beutiful than hearing a thousand times "I love you", and there were simply no words to fully express my feelings at that time... After the ceremony, the couple fled in a horse carriage and we met them again at a restaurant they had booked ...

... to the real prize, the reason we "modified" the plan, the reason we took the 14:13 instead of the 18:11, the reason we decided to do more than just change trains in Brussels, Moules frites at Chez Leon! one of my all-time favorite meals in one of my all-time favorite restaurants anywhere within the four corners of our little planet we call earth. After thoroughly ...

... girl and they arrived at the metro station hand in hand. Anyhow, Achim was making a taxi stop to bring us downtown and he even paid for it! The party went on, it was wild and great still. I got some Wittekerke beer glasses that are at Martin, Jenny and Dylan stuck me into a hot lapdance... I didnt really know what to think about (right right I'm conservative! naaahh!) And the icelandic girl got her mood broken after our weird talk continue (meaning that I'm useless ...

... to get some night shots because I've seen some postcards of lthe guildhouses all lit up and pretty - but it doesn't get dark until almost 10pm and I couldn't be bothered going back out at that time of night. I'm settling down by then, ready to play some cards, have a shower and then go to bed. The weather here in Belgium hasn't been kind to us. It hasn't been cold but it's been raining on and off a lot. Wheneverf we head outside it starts to rain so I get my umbrella ...

... There are signs starting 5 km before the border warning of the advancing border. 2 km, 1 km, 800 meters, 500 meters, 100 meters. At the border itself we had to slow down to go through what looked like a toll gate without a toll. Guards stood at the border crossing, but didn't seem to do anything. We're not sure what the purpose of all this fuss was, but it was definitely different than other border crossings. The roads in France are also ...